Companies Compete. Countries Pursue Their Interests. That’s a Big Difference.
If it becomes a new White House mantra, a key paragraph that appeared in an op-ed by National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster and National Economic Council chief Gary Cohn in …
John Kennedy and Illiberalism
May 29 will mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States. Kennedy may be well known not only to Germans, …
A Geoeconomic Agenda: Transatlantic Strategy in an Age of Populism
Issue Brief 56 In the face of growing challenges to an open, rules-based global economic order, there is a need to identify new ideas and narratives about the importance of …
Pragmatic France Elects a Reformer
There is an old story about the serious French thinker who, when presented with a common-sense solution to a problem, will find fault by retorting that the idea “works in …
Fixing Trade Rules—Or Fixing Trade Deficits?
In international relations, a distinction is often drawn between the “realist” school that bases decision-making on an objective calculation of national interests, and an “idealist” school that emphasizes principles such …
GE CEO: Germany points the way for a U.S. manufacturing revival
In an April 2 interview with Fareed Zakaria on CNN’s “Global Public Square,” GE CEO Jeff Immelt made the case for looking to Germany for clues to reviving manufacturing in hard-hit …
Merkel’s Twin Mission with Trump: NATO and Trade
When German Chancellor Angela Merkel has her first face-to-face meeting with President Trump in Washington on March 17,* she will have two key tests. Can she take the sting out of …
Global Economic Order: A “Made in America” Idea
The idea of “global economic order” may sound far away from the concerns of the average citizen, but it means something both simple and important: that it is better for trade, investment, and other forms of commercial activity to take place according to agreed-upon rules, and that those rules should reflect the principles of the United States, Germany, and other liberal economies in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. “Liberal” in this case signifying not a position on a right-left political spectrum, but rather a set of ideas that encompasses the rule of law, openness to change, and the primacy of the individual vs. state authority.
In Trade Policy, the Best Defense Remains a Good Offense
The hometown Washington Redskins may have just missed making it to the playoffs of the National Football League championships this season. But they showed once again how important a strong …
The Presidential Campaign and The Future of U.S. Trade Policy: Implications for Transatlantic Relations
The 2016 presidential contest in the United States has been characterized by a particularly heated debate about the role that trade policy should play in promoting US prosperity and national …
After the IMF Meetings, Will Germany Embrace Trudeaumania?
Trudeaumania 2.0—the sense of hope and optimism once again coming from a young, liberal prime minister north of the border—has so far found greatest resonance in concrete steps like an …
TPP: Lessons from the Pacific for the Atlantic
This week’s successful conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations is a major historical milestone. It is the first part – along with the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) …